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In the way of an introduction to this post, one of my long-time celebrity crushes: Channing Tatum. Don’t ask me why, but I just think he is a fine specimen of the male species. Some people disagree with me, but I could honestly care less.

Yesterday I came home after a four-hour car ride by myself and without A/C. My pioneer ancestors would probably think that’s hilarious since they had nothing in the way of climate control amenities when they had to go somewhere, so I really shouldn’t complain.

I got some lunch and was turning the corner for the garage when I passed by the house on the corner…

And saw neighbour guy in his garage, working on his car.

Shirtless.

And drop-dead gorgeous.

Holy Moses.

And I just found out thanks to my housemate and his shameless flirting with my next door neighbor that her housemate recently moved to be with his (future?) husband. And I just caught a glimpse of him too the other day. Also gorgeous.

And apparently gay.

Damn it all: where were these guys earlier this year when I decided to go on the market (regardless of the fact that back then I couldn’t have approached anyone to save my life)?

That is a moot point though… I am now happily off the market, and have an amazing guy who is coming to see me in two days (and consequently am getting exponentially more nervous by the hour)!

All of that was in the way of introduction.

I’ve asked this question before: What makes a guy confident enough to show off his body, regardless of how developed (or even undeveloped—e.g., Sanjaya and other emo boys like him) his physique is? What makes him so comfortable in his skin that he feels the need to go about shirtless, or practically naked? From art history we see that males have traditionally been less modest in terms of dress, opting for bare torsos, arms and legs—the Greeks and Egytpians come to mind.

From an evolutionary biological standpoint this makes sense. Males have to be more exhibitionistic in order to attract mates. They have to show that their genetic material is superior to the competition—that they are stronger, faster, and more virile. But that’s in animals who are purely about procreation. No matter what Disney tells you, there is nothing romantic about it.

So what in a human male’s set of experiences leads him to feel that not only is it acceptable to show off his body, but that he has something worth showing off?

So what about the skinny boys who don’t mind showing off their scrawny arms and undeveloped chests? Or the guys who decided to develop south of their pectorals, right above (and sometimes over) the belt? What makes a guy confident in his body to just not care?